When fanboy became teacher

Mumbai lad Rahul Shetty is making waves all over the country with his fine moves. The young choreographer has hits like 'Beat Pe Booty' (A Flying Jatt) and 'Mundiyan' (Baaghi 2) to his credit.  

He has acted in the film 'ABCD' but considers the song 'Happy Hour' from 'ABCD 2' as the turning point in his career, which gave him and partner Paul a chance to choreograph for the legendary Prabhu Deva.

Rahul  has also worked in 28 reality shows as a celeb choreographer and has assisted the likes of Farah Khan and Bosco Ceaser in a few movies. The dancing sensation talks to Rajitha Menon about finding his footing in the industry.  

What made you take up dancing?

Dancing was always my first love, since the time I performed in my society competition at the age of four. From school to engineering, what stayed with me was the love for this art form and the eagerness to explore more in this field.  

What were the initial years like?

When I started, there was no YouTube; the only thing I had was my television set. I used to watch a lot of videos  of Michael Jackson, Prabhu Deva and Ganesh Hegde. I started auditioning for reality shows, became a reality show choreographer and then got into film song choreography.

When were you able to break into Bollywood?

After choreographing a number of reality shows, I got an entry into 'ABCD', directed by Remo D'Souza. He saw my performances and offered me and my partner, Paul Cardoza, a chance to choreograph a song in ABCD 2. Imagine the schoolboy,
who used to learn from Prabhu Deva sir's videos, choreographing his moves. It was my golden ticket into the industry.

The most memorable moment in your career so far?

The day when Prabhu Deva walked into our rehearsal studio and saw the piece of choreography which we had set for him.

Is Prabhu Deva as strict a taskmaster as he is made out to be?

Prabhu sir is the sweetest person ever. We always have fun with him.
I think I was fortunate enough to work with most of the choreographers of our industry and honestly, no one is strict.

Your thoughts about dance-based reality shows, especially those  for little
children?

Such shows are a boon to the dancing community in India. They are a reason why dance as a career is becoming accepted in our country. When it comes to kids, enough security measures are taken while executing an act and these are performed under the guidance of experts.

Regarding the complaints that reality shows have an adverse effect on a child's mental state, I believe taking part in such shows inspires children to be more active and lets them discover new abilities, rather than spending time on a smartphone or in front of the television. And if these youngsters are not selected in a show...well, failures are necessary too.  

How viable is dance as a career?

There is a misconception that if you choose dance as a career, your future is not secured as you cannot dance once you cross the age of 30-35 years. When you choose this career, a vast spectrum of opportunities awaits you. You can get into production, acting, direction, makeup, hair styling, fashion styling and so much more.  

Favourite actor-dancer?

Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff

What is the process of choreographing a song like?

The process is quite hectic. You first get the song, listen to it, visualise it, think how creative you can be with it, assign dancers for it, train them, train the actors, decide on the costumes and decide on the look and feel of the song. Accordingly, you have to brief the art director who will then construct the set. The shoot depends on the scale of the song, it can range from two to three to eight to nine days.